A month after he told the world he wanted to be traded to a new NFL home, Lamar Jackson raised a Ravens-stamped football, laughed and declared how thrilled he was to return to the city where he has captivated fans and won games for the past five years.
Jackson will be the Ravens’ quarterback for the long term after he agreed to a five-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday, bringing an abrupt, happy ending to more than a year of complex negotiations that had clouded the franchise’s future and frayed fans’ nerves.
Terms of the deal were not immediately announced, but ESPN reported Jackson will receive $260 million with $185 million in guarantees, figures that would push him past the $255 million extension Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts agreed to earlier this month and make the Ravens quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history.
“You know, for the last few months, there’s been a lot of he-said, she-said, a lot of nail-biting, a lot of head scratching going on,” Jackson said in a video posted by the team. “But for the next five years, there’s a lot of ‘Flock’ going on. Let’s go, baby. Can’t wait to get there. Can’t wait to be there. Can’t wait to light up M&T Bank [Stadium] for the next five years. Let’s get it.”
News of the extension broke as the Ravens prepared to make their first pick in the NFL draft and two weeks after they signed a superstar target for Jackson, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., to a $15 million deal.
General manager Eric DeCosta had said an extension for Jackson was his goal this offseason. But there had been little hint of progress in negotiations, which dragged on for more than a year as Jackson, who represents himself, sought a lucrative deal.
In a video the Ravens tweeted Thursday evening, DeCosta said: “It was a long, long process, but family is never easy. We’re thrilled we were able to get it done. The question now is: what do we do for an encore?”
The Ravens were prepared for a murky and perhaps painful offseason, with Jackson’s future in Baltimore uncertain and difficult roster cuts on the table because of a $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag the quarterback received March 7. Jackson tweeted before the NFL owners’ meetings last month that he requested to be traded March 2 because the team “has not been interested in meeting my value.” Fans braced to say farewell to an athlete who had previously been expected to be the next great Baltimore star in a lineage featuring names such as Lewis, Ripken, Robinson and Unitas.
Instead, a difficult negotiation ended abruptly, and the Ravens got what DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh said they wanted all along — a clear runway to build around Jackson’s dazzling talents as a runner and passer. Though the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player has not finished either of the past two seasons because of injuries, he’s 45-16 as the Ravens’ starter, and they have made the playoffs in four of his five seasons.
Five years ago, the Ravens made a bold draft-night trade to add the No. 32 overall pick, which they used to anoint Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, as the successor to Joe Flacco, MVP of the February 2013 Super Bowl.
“They’re going to get a Super Bowl out of me, believe that,” Jackson said that draft night after he donned a Ravens cap for the first time and bounced on stage to shake NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand.
Now, the 26-year-old superstar will be clear to chase that goal with his financial future secure and the knowledge that the Ravens are committed to building everything around him.
At their season-ending news conference in January, DeCosta and Harbaugh acknowledged the complexity of ongoing negotiations with Jackson.
“Everything we’ve done in terms of building our offense and building our team, how we think in terms of [bringing in] people and putting people around him is based on this incredible young man, his talent, his ability and his competitiveness,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll have my fingers crossed, and my toes crossed, and I’ll be saying prayers. I have every faith that it’s going to get done, and we have the best people in the world doing it. Eric DeCosta, there’s nobody better. Eric wants him here, I want him here, [Ravens owner] Steve [Bisciotti] wants him here, and Lamar wants to be here. So, it’s going to work out.”
Coach and general manager reiterated that commitment when they hired Todd Monken to replace Greg Roman as offensive coordinator and when they signed Beckham, who shared an excited FaceTime call with Jackson the night he agreed to join the Ravens.
Though the extension will not give the Ravens room to spend exuberantly, it will give them flexibility. By using the franchise tag to keep Jackson off the free agent market, DeCosta tied up $32.4 million when the free agent shopping window opened in March. The Ravens had to make difficult belt-tightening decisions, most notably cutting veteran defensive end Calais Campbell to create $7 million in salary cap space. They will still have to plan carefully to build around Jackson’s salary, easily the highest in team history (Flacco previously signed the largest Ravens contract, five years for $120.6 million, in 2013), but the structure of the deal will likely allow them to add more quality players for 2023.
Teammates had made it clear they wanted Jackson back and many shared exuberant reactions on social media when news of his extension broke.
“Truzzzz,” Beckham tweeted, using Jackson’s catchphrase of affirmation to celebrate.
“Y’all thought he was leaving???” cornerback Marlon Humphrey added on Twitter. “All y’all Ravens fans that wanted [Eric DeCosta] fired, where y’all at???
Tight end Mark Andrews joked at the Pro Bowl that he would donate his paycheck to keep Jackson in town.
The one key party who said little was Jackson, who has not spoken to reporters since the first Friday in December, shortly before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Ravens made the playoffs and pushed the Cincinnati Bengals to the limit in the AFC wild-card round with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. But the uncertainty around Jackson’s next step loomed over every game he did not play.
He last addressed his contract situation in September, when he and the Ravens did not reach an extension agreement before the season opener.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked if a deal was close. “I don’t know.”
Now that the uncertainty is in the past, questions will turn to football matters such as Jackson’s fit with the new offensive coordinator and the Ravens’ Super Bowl prospects for 2023 and beyond.
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